


Cops/Robbers

by BleachHasAPissKink



Category: Original Work
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Girls with Guns, Help, How Do I Tag, I Blame Tumblr, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I Wrote This While Listening to Ed Sheeran's Music, I fucking need to shit, I swear, I think ill cry, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Going to Hell, I'm Sorry, Inspired By Tumblr, M/M, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Fiction, Please Do Not Take This Seriously, Robbery, Stockholm Syndrome, This Is STUPID, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, What Was I Thinking?, Why Did I Write This?, bleach cries the movie, dont romantizise this ion wanna get cancelled, dont romantizise this its supposed to be toxic plz, i have a crush on all the characters, ill cry?????, is this gonna be sad, mlm, not clickbait, okay i shit back to tagging, this is a joke, this is like the love child of killing stalking and banana fish, this looks like something on tumblr, tiktok told me to, whoops, women <3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29339121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleachHasAPissKink/pseuds/BleachHasAPissKink
Summary: Kay so. This looks hella cheesy. I swear this is a joke based on one fucking tiktok. Please do not judge me. I will start crying I swear. Also plz dont romantizise this, its a relationship based on stockholm syndrome. Also yes, this fic is written very cheesily. And you'll learn about the story when you actually read it but here's the tiktok its based on https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJsejAnj/





	1. EXPLANATION JUST IN CASE YOU DIDNT READ THE DESCRIPTION

K so I drew the scene of this tiktok and it uhhhh.. went kinda viral. So basically https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJsejAnj/ was the original tiktok and I decided to write a fanfic based off of this because a lot of people wanted a story on ittt....


	2. Rude ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \---TRIGGER WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO IS SENSITIVE TO MENTIONS OF ALCOHOL AND/OR BEING DRUNK---

"Hikaru!" My boss bellowed from the main floor of the shop, sounding just as angry as ever. I finished up in the bathroom, drying my hands off on my thighs in a hurry to get back.

"Yeah? What is it?" I squeaked, an instant rush of anxiety hitting me as I saw how red his face was with anger. I peered down to what he was standing by, gulping quietly when I saw that the neon sign that told customers when we were open was on the floor.

"Seriously! This is the second time this week, do you butter these screws?!" He shouted, picking the sign up and handing me a screwdriver.

"No sir!" I grabbed the tool and quickly bowed, getting down on my knees and starting to pick up all of the little screws that had scattered across the floor. My boss scoffed, angrily yanking the cigarette out of his mouth and dropping it as he walked back to his office. "I'll be leaving for the night, this is your last task before you can pack up."

I didn't want to respond, a little pissed off that I had to do this all alone. I was shit at fixing things, especially when I had to fiddle around with tiny little nuts and screws. You see, my hands are not cut out for working with small things. They always shake when I get too nervous and my fingers are like sausages, I'm sure the big boss knows this and is just making me do this so he can torture me.

"Seeya." Was the only sort of goodbye I got from him before I heard the small ding of the door opening and closing.

"Shit," I whispered as I dropped one of the screws again, fumbling around on the shiny floor to find it as it had rolled quite a far distance.

Ding, dong

My head whipped around, a sharp shock of fear shot through me at the tiny ding of the door opening. "Oh!" I exclaimed, sighing shortly and calming myself when I saw it was just a customer. "I'm sorry, we're closed right now but I can service you quickly." I giggled, scratching the back of my head, "My boss would be furious at this but he won't find out."

The guy looked pretty average, pitch black dull looking hair, a tall stature and purple bags under his deep set black eyes. "...Sure, whatever." He grunted, stuffing his hand in the large pocket of his grey hoodie and pulling out his phone to check a few notifications.

I got up from the floor, taking a few deep breaths to slow my beating heart. He wandered through the store, immediately looking to the back where we kept the alcoholic drinks. "Let me know if you need anything!" I chirped, wanting to appear nice.

"Sure." Not a man of many words apparently.

I reached into the registrar, going through the earnings from today and recounting for the third time that night. "One.. six.. six twenty five.."

"Oi, stop mumbling." He growled, reaching down and grabbing a case of beers by one of the handles.

"Sorry!" I hadn't even noticed myself talking, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Didn't mean too.." I whispered under my breath, looking away as he approached the counter with the case.

"'Ts fine." He set the case on the counter, "Just this."

"Yeah! Uh.." I looked back over to him, squinting my eyes and doubting for a second if he was old enough, "Can I see some identification? Y'know just so that I can be sure I don't lose my job and all!"

He rolled his eyes, reaching into his wallet, snapping his ID onto the counter and sliding it over to me looking annoyed. "Thanks!" I grabbed it, holding it up to the light to make sure that it was real first before I checked his age. "23.. You're Akoku Ishida?"

"Yep."

"May I just say that you have the prettiest name," I held his ID out, only to have it snatched out of my hand pretty quickly and stuffed back inside of his pocket.

"Have a good night," Akoku wished before quickly leaving, giving me barely any time to wish him the same.

"Rude.." I mumbled to myself, heading back over to the sign and finishing up the rest of the job so I could leave. This sign was like a curse, somehow no matter how tight I made these screws there was always a chance that they could come loose just the next day and damn me to another late night of tedious fixing.

""Annd there." I got up from the floor, wiggling the sign a little bit just to make sure it was as secure as I could make it, "That should last for at least a week.. I hope."

With that I got my jacket, turned off the lights and locked the door on the way to my dingy hand me down car. As I turned on my car I looked down to the time, "Damn, ten already?" I pulled out, sighing in both exhaustion and frustration.

Something about that guy from before made me angry, maybe it was how he just walked in after closing time or how he had been so rude and ungrateful for my service.. Maybe a little bit of both. Whatever it was I knew that I wasn't going to be as kind next time he came around our shop, no matter how soon or far away that was.

My apartment complex was only three blocks from the convenience store so I was there in about five minutes, sometimes on bad traffic days it would take up to fifteen but it was never anything too crazy.

Trying my best to keep quiet so I didn't wake anyone I tiptoed up the two flights of stairs to reach my room on the second floor, noticing a few things as I walked up. There seemed to be traces of some sort of animal feces on the floor of the stairs, probably from an ill-trained dog. There were also a bunch of stains of some clear liquid that I knew was most likely alcohol taken the context of where I lived.

My complex was home to a bunch of alcoholic twenty year olds who loved to cause ruckus at night, my roommate, Hime, was one of them but I was never mad at her. Rather, I honestly found it funny when I found her drunk out of her mind and wandering aimlessly through the halls stumbling and falling. Though it's only funny until she falls down the stairs.

Hime was kinda famous in my complex and my college, not for being pretty or nice but for just being flat out weird. She was really loud and often teased people, getting more drunk than anyone and acting on some weird impulsus.

I had been considering keeping a small journal of stories from my experiences with Hime, like the time that I had to pull her out of the pool as she was skinny dipping and pretending that she was a shark. I had a bite mark on my arm for a week from that, honestly I was convinced that the scar was going to be permanent.

"23." I mumbled as I came across my apartment, shoving my key into the lock and opening the door sluggishly.

"Ono!!" I heard my roommate exclaim from the living room, having absolutely no time to prepare for the tackle of a hug she surprised me with. "How's my lil nerd doing on his special day!!" Her glasses were this close to sliding off the bridge of her nose.

"..Huh?" Special day? The hell was that supposed to mean? "Um.. hey can we go back inside? I don't wanna wake anyone who might be sleeping, it's pretty late y'know."

"Oh c'mon ya big baby, this complex is filled to the brim with college students like you and me. You think anyone is genuinely asleep at TEN? You have to be joking," She laughed, pushing me into the front hall, "But I guess we can't celebrate your birthday in the hallway, get in there!"

"Oof!" I almost fell down, looking back at my blonde haired roommate in confusion, "Hime- my what?!" Had I seriously forgotten my own birthday?

She snorted, "C'mon nerd, you joke around too much. I got your cake in the living room, sorry that I already ate two pieces. I got hungie." She rubbed her stomach and flopped down on the couch again, "That 'ol Sacho is working you to death, you look like you haven't slept in years, man."

I followed her into the living room, still wearing the same confused expression as I stared down at the half eaten chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. "It's my birthday?"

She sat up, trying not to burst out laughing, "Wait you seriously didn't know?! Ha! Look at this guy!" I took an awkward seat on one of the love chairs, "Yeah, it's your twenty second birthday. You seriously didn't know?"

"No.." I slid the cake closer to me, using one of the few plastic knives that were scattered on the coffee table to cut a small piece of it, "I honestly kinda forgot," I chuckled at my own stupidity, flipping the slice onto a paper plate and sitting back in the chair.

"Y'know sometimes I worry 'bout you, dork," Hime turned on the TV, surfing through a few channels before landing on MTV.

"Yeah.." I stared down at the cake, suddenly feeling a little sick, "I do too."

"Hey what's wrong over there?" She turned the TV down, "You're all pale and shit, you remembered it now so what's the big deal?"

"Well.. I guess nothing.. I dunno, I guess I'm just worried about what else I could be forgetting, you feel me?" If I had gotten to the state that I had forgotten the date of my actual birthday what was actually going wrong? Was there something wrong with my mind? Perhaps this was a symptom of sleep loss.

I had barely slept at all this past week, living off of caffeine patches and chocolate bars that I snuck throughout the day at work. It wasn't like I had much time to work at night, that was all booked for studying and working on my upcoming projects for school. If this sleep loss continued what else could happen?!

"Mmm.." She squinted, brushing a strand of hair out her eyes and readjusting her thick-framed glasses, "Maaaaybe. I guess, I dunno what the big deal is. I forget things all the time, you're just lucky that I didn't forget your birthday too cause then we wouldn't get to binge drink and sing karaoke when we're drunk as hell."

"Hm? Wouldn't get to what?" I tilted my head and looked up from my cake. She reached under the couch, grabbing a bottle of vodka and smirking.

"What do ya say? It'll get your mind off of whatever's goin on up there." She offered, waving the tall, square shaped bottle back and forth like she was trying to hypnotise me.

"Well-"

"C'monnnn!~" She giggled, reaching forward and setting the alcohol on the coffee table next to the cake, "Well I mean I won't force you if you don-"

I cut her off, "It sounds fun, let's do it."


	3. I shouldn't get drunk..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a bit shorter! Also, if you couldn't tell there's more depictions of being drunk so trigger warning

Four... five... six... seven shots. "Haha.." I laughed sluggishly, setting the small glass down on the coffee table and looking over to Hime who was setting the amp up for a little karaoke session.

"I dunno if this is really good for me," I felt lightheaded and a little tired, everything in front of me was blurry. "I feel kinda.. sick.."

"You're slurring your words like crazy!" Hime giggled, plugging the coard of the mic into the amp and turning on the TV.

"Eyo, gimme that shit." She snatched the bottle of vodka out of my hand, immediately taking a swig straight up. "Woo!" Her expression wasn't exactly pleasant, she looked like she was sort of in pain. Typical for someone who stupidly decided to chug vodka.

"Hey, you shouldn't.." I hiccuped, "You shouldn't drink it like that, doesn't that taste horrible?"

"Well, yeah kinda." She shrugged, plopping down on the couch and sliding a shot glass over to where she was sitting, "Kinda part of the experience, alcohol tastes terrible but the feeling ya get is worth it, silly. Just how many times have you genuinely been drunk?! No, I don't mean that flimsy tipsy shit."

"Well.. there was one time in high school that I went to this party.."

While I spoke she took around eight shots, gradually getting more and more drunk looking. Her eyes were dead and her smile was wide. "Typical... typical place to get drunk, high school parties are a shitshow."

"Yeah, I was sorta forced into the whole thing.." I slumped down on the couch, reaching around in my memories to see if I could find it.

The whole memory was already fuzzy but adding on being drunk only made it worse, there were vague pictures but nothing really connected into the full story. There was the pool that a few of the kids were skinny dipping in, getting all frisky and ignoring how they were all underaged. There was the mini fridge that I spent most of the night near, getting pressured into drinking a few of the beers that were inside. After that I sort of blanked, maybe I blacked out and did something outrageous but whatever had happened had left my memory for good.

"Boooringgg, you don't remember anything else?" Hime whined, sort of startling me and causing me to jump.

"Wait, did I say anything?"

She finished taking another shot, slamming the glass onto the table and burping, "Yeah, you were mumbling about the party. Duhhh." One of the straps on her very oversized tank top fell down her shoulder, the other followed rather quickly.

"Oh," My cheeks suddenly felt hot, though that could have just been the alcohol, "Interesting, sorry I thought I was just thinking."

"Don't apologise, dumbass," She snickered, punching my shoulder and pulling me into a hug that doubled as a choke hold, "Y'know, a party like that actually sounds bomb. I wonder if whoever hosted it was rich, wish I coulda been there honestly. You said there was skinny dipping?"

I nodded, reaching out to get another shot but being stopped by Hime's strong hold on my neck, "I didn't like it, I didn't wanna break the law like everyone else. I hate criminals and the.. The idea of being one sickens me.."

"Oh c'mon that's just boring!!" She exclaimed, "You don't wanna break the law?! You're saying you've never jaywalked or stole from a store?"

"Nn.." Another hiccup, "No! I could never! I'm a law abiding citizen, thank you very much!"

"Well I'm sure not," Hime snorted, setting the bottle of vodka on the floor and stumbling as she got up to turn the TV off, "We can just talk, honestly I'm not.. Really in the mood for any karaoke."

"What do you mean you're not?!" I was serious when I said that I hated criminals, especially since my father was one. Me and mom found out that he had been avoiding his taxes, committing fraud and lying to us about everything being under control. I found it disgusting, disgusting that he could lie to his wife and son about being a dirty, good for nothing criminal and continue to act completely innocent.

After the divorce and the sentencing I had made it a promise to myself to never break a law, I didn't want my life to fall apart like Dad's. I didn't want to get into a situation where I would have to commit tax fraud, keeping a stable job and not being ambitious on my choice of housing.

"Yeah I've stolen things, mainly things from big bad corporations like Target. I don't wanna give em money so I just took it," Hime snorted, tearing the fabric of a blanket with her teeth. That was one of her weird habits, almost every one of her blankets had tears and holes.

"Oh.. well I guess that's not too bad, it would be different if you stole from a small store. Then I'd.. then I'd actually be mad at you." I kicked at her feet playfully.

"You know I wouldn't do that! That's lowlife shit, everyone who steals from small stores can suck my ass," She tilted her head, making a small noise, "Actually no, I wouldn't give them that pleasure. My ass is great, I wouldn't let just anyone suck it."

I sighed, laying down on the couch and staring up at the slightly dirty cream ceiling, "I met someone today.."

"Oh?"

"I can't get him out of my mind," I grumbled, "It's like he pissed me off so much that he burned his image in my mind, he came in so late and he was super rude to me.."

"Mmmm.. I say that you stab him next time he comes in," Hime joked, tucking a peice of hair behind her ear and lying down next to me. "Just go stab stab" She mimicked the motion of stabbing, poking her index finger into my side two times gently.

I giggled, "Yeah, maybe I should."

"Oh but you wouldn't, your sappy ass would neeever commit a crime." She mocked dramatically, arching her back and holding her hand on her forehead backwards like she was in a Shakespearean play.

"Ehhh, I'll make an exception this time." I stabbed at the air above me with my finger, laughing again.

"OoOooOo big bad Hikaru!" She rolled over, laying on her side with her lips almost touching my shoulder because of how thin the couch was, her breath brushed against my neck in an uncomfortable way. 

I wanted to ask what she was getting so close for, though she just looked too cute for me to be mad. She could be damn cute when she wanted to, she had these deep dimples and cute creases near her eyes when she smiled and her eyes always had a sort of twinkle to them. She looked sort of like a cat when she smiled just right, she acted like one as well. Especially when she was drunk, she got clingy and irritable while keeping her sass and roughness. 

"Damn right," I laughed, ripping my eyes off of her face out of embarrassment and continuing to stare at the ceiling. I felt her leg snake over mine, as well as a hand on my chest. 

"Sorry if I'm breaking boundaries or some shit, ya look cute right now and I had to snuggle up against ya. Alcohol.. 's known to make you feel cold, y'know." Hime rested her head in the nook of my neck and my shoulder.

I could now be sure that it was not just the alcohol making me blush now, a cute girl was clinging onto me for warmth and she even said I was cute! It wasn't like I was crushing on her, I found her attractive but I never thought of trying to date her. I hadn't had a genuine crush on someone since the fifth grade, and that was only because she was my only friend back in those days. Now the idea of having a crush seemed like child's play. It was something that my friends would tease me for back then, not a term for adult relationships.

"You're staring at my tits, Hikaru." Hime grumbled out of no where. making me gulp.

"Shit!!" I exclaimed, looking away immediately and apologizing multiple times. "Sorry sorry, I was just thinking.. I-I didn't realize-"

"It's m'kay. "She shrugged, almost hitting me in the jaw with her shoulder, "Honestly, I would too. Tits are hot in general but mine take the cake for being the hottest, do you see how round those puppies are?!"

"Eh heh.. yeah.. I still feel like a perv.." I looked back at her face only to see that adorable devilish/catlike smile of her's, "Sorry.."

"You don't have to say sorry, stupid! Goddamn, were you raised in a castle?! I stare at my friend's tits all the time. 'ts not like they care! We're buddies, buddies can look at people's tits. At least that's my mentality. Besties get special privileges, hell I'd be willing to make a 'friends with benefits' pact with that one.. uhhh.. what was her name.."

"Chiyako?"

"Chiyako! That was her name!"

Chiyako was Hime's best friend, a girl that she constantly talked about. Her and Chiyako were complete opposites, quite surprising that they were so close. Chiyako was a very soft spoken individual, having fun by playing with bugs or dressing up in really nice clothes just for a simple walk with her Pomeranian. When I first met her myself I thought that Hime had been lying about her being her best friend, I thought that if anything those two would have been completely unhealthy for each other.

Guess that wasn't really the case, they were completely inseparable. "You would become her friend with benefits? Aren't you both.. uh.. y'know.. girls?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Eh so what, I like em both. Girls, guys, whatever. 'S long as you're cool I'll date you," She shrugged, "Plus Chiyako's a total virgin, could be cool to take it myself." She chuckled.

"Oh.." A concept of two girls in a relationship had never crossed my mind, I thought that it wasn't possible for that to happen. Though, I wasn't against it. "Can boys do that too?"

"Have you seriously never seen a homosexual couple?" She looked perplexed but also like she was about to laugh.

I shook my head, "No." I stated simply.


	4. You mean we...

I woke up the next morning with a blinding headache, a ringing in my ears and a person laying beside me. It didn't take long for me to figure out who I had slept with.

"Hime!" I whispered sharply, grabbing her arm gently and shaking it a bit. "Him-"

"Whaaat," She whined, slapping my hand off her arm and rolling over to face me. She looked worn out, her lipstick was smeared and streaks of black covered her cheeks, "Damnit, Hikaru, can't you just let me sleep?!"

"Sorry!" I gulped, staring at her messed up makeup feeling guilty. She had obviously cried the night before, that would explain the smeared eyeliner. What if I had said something? Was I the one that made her cry, "I.. was- augh," The stinging pain in my head suddenly got worse, making me flinch.

"Shut up." She rolled back over, snatching the end of the blanket that we were sharing and hogged it all to herself. Well, I was awake now so it wasn't like I needed it anyways. Leaving her alone seemed to be the best bet, she was angry enough. I got up, picking up my tee shirt off of the floor and pulling it on.

"Sleep well!" I reached over, pulling the blanket down over her back and leaving her to get a few more hours to herself. The alcohol had made me forget everything, though I knew that when she came to Hime would rant about what happened. She always remembered everything when she blacked out, it was like a secret talent of hers. A talent that I was very jealous of, if I had the same talent I would drink much more. Spending a night blacked out and then not remembering anything afterwards sounds like a nightmare, there was no limit of what could happen.

As the water that I had started to boil heated up I went over to the fridge, pulling out the eggs to make breakfast for myself and Hime. One of her favorite foods was cheesy eggs, it always seemed to cheer her up even when she was in the worst of moods. That plus a little coffee was sure to help out both of our hangovers, but in the meantime a few painkillers would help my head.

It was a quiet morning, I didn't have to go to work for another two hours so I had a little time to spare. I would make breakfast then work a little on my work for school, I had to work on a small paper and a slideshow both for my history class.

I set the pan onto the stove, turning the dial to medium and waited for the pan to heat up before I poured the egg mixture into it. This was a trick I had learned from my dad, the cook of the house when I was a kid. If you worked fast on an already hot pan you could get the same result in, like, half the time. My mom thought he was stupid, saying that if you started on a hot pan the chances of you burning the food hightend. For a while I thought this too, well that was until I got into college and I had to make food for myself.

I often overslept, sometimes only having ten minutes to make and eat breakfast, that's when I actually started to use the trick. It worked like a charm, the same result with the time cut in half. My dad really was a genius, sad he had to pass.

In a matter of minutes the eggs were done, I transferred them to two separate plates, sprinkled shredded cheese over one of them and salt and pepper onto the other. However, just as I was about to go back to my room to give Hime her breakfast I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen.

"Well speak of the devil," I giggled as I saw her poke her face into the kitchen, fully wrapped in a blanket like a little spring roll.

"Mornin', dork," She yawned, sitting on one of the stools under the island, "Least you slept good, you practically passed out last night. I thought you died." She started digging into her eggs, smiling as soon as she took the first bite.

"How did you sleep?" I asked, sitting down on the stool next to her and pushing my eggs around on my plate. I wasn't exactly hungry, though I knew that food was going to help the hangover pass.

"Horrible," She took another bite, "I didn't get to bed until three, thank god I don't have to go in today. This hangover is gonna kill me."

"Hm, hey by the way what happened last night?" I stuffed a few bites into my mouth, enjoying the salty taste.

"We hooked up," She said ever so casually, continuing to stuff her face.

I almost choked, my eyes going wide, "Wha-" Was all that came out, my mouth still stuffed with food. I swallowed, continuing to look surprised, "What?!" By "hooked up" she couldn't possibly mean.. No, it was obviously something else. She often replaced words, maybe she just meant that we hung out for a while!!

"You heard me, shorty," She laughed, "What's with that face? You're surprised? C'mon, what did you expect would happen? What, were we just gonna play uno or something?"

Oh god.. She was serious. "No! Um.. no, I'm just uh.. you're my roommate and I.." Up until.. Now.. I had been a virgin, well if this counted of course. I didn't remember it at all, saying this was my first time seemed like cheating. We were drunk out of our minds, I wouldn't do that if I was sober. Not with Hime of all people, hell she was my best friend not my girlfriend!

"Well whatever you wanna interpret it as, you got some major stamina, shorty. Didn't expect that outta you, I'm surprised to say the least," She finished her eggs, getting up from the island to wash her dishes plus the ones I had used to make breakfast.

"Oh.." I didn't know exactly what I had expected, I hadn't engaged in anything sexual. And when I say that, I mean it. Just after my father died, my mom took the responsibility of raising me up to be the best I could be. That meant that teaching me that anything that could become an addiction was sure to get me a ticket straight to hell, or as she called it "The Devil's Palace" Whenever I would reach for a third cookie she would threaten me with the idea of hell, saying that if I got addicted to the sweet taste that I would surely visit Satan in his Devil Palace. This carried onto sexual things when I got older, as soon as sex ed started she said to restrain from doing anything that those videos were teaching me until I married the right girl.

As I grew older and got exposed to more things I realized that I wasn't a Christian like she was, rather I broke away from the church to pursue atheism. Religion just didn't make sense to me. I was surrounded by science, not the angels and symbols of god that the bible had taught little me about. My mothers morals didn't make sense anymore, her long speeches forcing me into those rules of that religion didn't line up with my beliefs anymore and I felt as if I could finally breathe.

I honestly am impressed with the people who stick with their religion until they die, living under a set of rules sounds like a nightmare. There are certain joys to life that one just cannot experience.

I looked back up to the clock, gasping when I realized that there was only a half hour left until work started. "Shit-" I whispered, clearing my plate and setting it into the dishwasher. "Um, I'm sorry to leave so soon but if I don't go now I'll be late and-"

"Just shut up and go, ya big baby." She chuckled, re-wrapping herself in the sushi blanket. "Have a good day at work, don't kill anyone while you're gone."

"You too," I laughed, going back to my room to change into my work clothes. There was no time to worry about what had happened last night, I needed to get going quickly. As soon as I changed I rushed out, getting into my car and driving off. It was a crisp, dark winter morning. It was funny how wintertime made 6:00 AM look like it was still the middle of the night.

There weren't that many people on the road, only a few with drivers that looked like corpses. I had been wanting to get to work early, just to prepare a few of the snacks like the pretzels and hot dogs that usually ran out on Fridays from the kids that came in from school.

I pulled into the driveway, surprised when I saw that there was a figure standing by the locked door smoking a cigarette. "Hello?" I called as a I stepped out, just getting a small wave from the guy.

As I got closer I instantly recognized him, it was the rude guy from yesterday! He looked just as tired, this time in a leather jacket and a pair of black skinny jeans. "Oh.. hello sir!" I put a smile on, waving back.

"I came early this time," He smirked, taking another hit of the cigarette. "Not too late to shop around this time, huh?"

"Well, it's not too late but it's definitely too early," I tried not to appear annoyed, I honestly wanted to punch that smug look off that guy's face. "Maybe you can come back in an hour? That's when I'll be ready to open the shop."

"Oh c'mon, I was just gonna grab some gummy bears," He picked himself off of the wall he was leaning against, dropped the cigarette and ground it into ash with his foot. "I'll even stop smoking, how's that sound?"

"..Fine, I guess I can't really stop you," I shrugged, pushing past him, unlocking the door and holding it so he could pass.

"Damn, clean in here. Did you do this?" He wiped his finger onto the counter, surprised when he found there was no dust, "Usually all these gas stations are wrecked."

"Yeah, I clean the store during closing," I took my station behind the counter, grabbing the stray dollar that I left in the tip jar.

"Damn, good job shorty," He chuckled, moving to isle three and looking through the few variations of gummy candy. That nickname? Why did everyone seem to call me that? I wasn't even that short, I measured in at around 5'3. That was a completely average height for someone my age.

Just as I was thinking, I heard another ding. A girl with short, strawberry blonde hair and a work outfit came in with her purse draped on her back, "Oh hey Becky!" I greeted my coworker, receiving a wave back.

"Hey Hikaru, opening early? Isn't that one of the boss's pet peeves? Remember what happened last time?~" She cooed, picking up a few magazines that were just randomly out and organizing them onto the proper shelves.

"Aww, breaking the rules for me?" The guy teased, grabbing a bag of sour gummy worms and walking over to the counter.

"Eh?" Becky looked over to where he and I were, "Did you let someone in or somethin- Oh! Hey sir, sorry if that came off rude."

"Oh it's fine, Akoku at your service," He walked over with his hand out, retracting it when he saw her and whispering something under his breath, "Nevermind, you gonna ring up these worms?"

"Oh!" I grabbed the bag of candy, scanning it with the little device I had and taking the price off of his card, "Sorry if I made you wait."

"No worries.. You know, you're good with your hands," His voice had suddenly lowered, though it quickly gained volume as he wished us both a good day and left the store.


	5. Father Daughter time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the chapters I have prepared and my schedule for writing is pretty inconsistant cause of school sorry whoops

"Ethnocentric bastard," Becky huffed, throwing her purse onto the counter and grabbing a broom from the small closet we had near the break area.

"Oh hey, I already cleaned last night. Y'know, like I always do." I waved at her hand.

"Nah, cause now I'm stressed." She grumbled, cleaning the already spotless floor angrily.

"What did he say?"

"'Foreigner' in that stupid prissy voice of his, I tell ya I'm sick of these bitches with their egos. I'm a traveller, not some goddamn pig."

"Oh.." Becky dealt with this a lot, she had moved here a year ago after a year of living in Berlin. Big shift in atmosphere to say the least. Unfortunately, the citizens of Japan aren't exactly kind to foreigners. Ones who are just passing through and ones who've settled down here, I don't know why. I don't know why they gave a damn about where someone comes from. As long as they're a good person I'm fine with being friends with them.

"I learned Japanese for this! Fucking hell, just cause I wasn't born here doesn't mean I'm a scumbag." She continued to angrily clean the floor, smashing the broom into a shelf and having a water bottle smack her on the head, "Shit!"

I giggled, "Maybe you should calm down a bit, like I said I already cleaned the-"

"Didn't I already tell you, baby face?! I'm stressed out, I need something to take my anger out on!" She continued to broom, fueled by her anger issues once again.

"You should get a stress ball or something, it'd be better than getting smacked with water bottles."

"I already tried that, dumbass. The thingy broke within a day and then I had to clean up all that flour." She picked the water bottle up, giving it a firm squeeze before setting it back on the shelf.

"Yeah! Like that! You could just squeeze a water bottle or something, just anything but angrily cleaning a floor."

"It'll be like the flour incident, I'll get water everywhere."

"Well, you could fill it up halfway!" I suggested, noticing a 1000 yen bill left on the counter. Something from yesterday? Or was it some kind of crazy tip left by that guy? No matter what it was, I snuck it into my pocket with a puzzled look on my face. I'd have to ask him about it next time he came in.

"I guess it's a good idea, though knowing me I'd probably find some way to make a mess even if it's halfway filled."

"You're thinking way too much about this, just try it out! If you make a mess it'll be way easier to clean then a buncha flour," I heard a ringing noise coming from the door, a short redheaded boy coming in with a wallet in his hand. He looked like a highschooler, maybe even a middle schooler judging by his height.

"Heya!" I greeted, getting an excited wave back. He went back to the drinks, pulling out some sort of energy drink and a bottled thing of iced coffee.

"Hey sir," He greeted, setting the two drinks onto the counter and pulling out a 500 yen bill. "This enough for both of them? It's all I have."

"You're a hundred yen short but I guess I can give you a discount, my boss hasn't shown yet so he won't know." I sorted the money that he had given me into the right drawer, I had just gotten 1000 yen so I wasn't exactly ready to be greedy. The kid looked a little poor, the least I could do was help him out.

"Thanks sir!" He beamed, grabbing the two drinks and scurrying out. Perhaps he was just a tall elementary student, judging by how childish he was acting.

"He was cute," I felt a bag of chips smack against my face just as I was about to check my phone for the time, "Ow!"

"Weirdo," Becky snorted, going back to sorting food that had been put back the wrong way.

"Oh c'mon, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to throw a bag of chips at you. Take it, I'll pay for it."

"Meanie," I ripped the bag open, shovelling a handful of chips into my mouth. "Thanks for the chips, though." My voice was slightly muffled due to my mouth being full.

"Ey, ey, swallow before you talk," She snorted, "Well, I think I'm done with prep, if you wanna take a break I'll work the register for a while. You've done that three times this week, right?"

"Oh don't worry, you go chill in the break room for a bit. I'm used to the register, it's honestly kinda fun!" I did find the register fun, it was kinda like a game! Plus, meeting new people was cool.

"Ookayy! Well, seeya!" She disappeared into the break room.

I took out my phone, connecting my earbuds and putting on one of my favorite playlists as I waited for someone to come in.

It was surprisingly empty for a Saturday, only a few people in the first hour. Usually, Saturday was one of our most busy days, usually from families getting snacks for some type of mini road trip. Sometimes they'd fill me in on the details of their trip, always really tedious stories told by children.

Stories told by children are some of the worst, they always skip over their words and forget big chunks of information. They backtrack and then lose where they left off, it's a nightmare. It's like listening to a person with ADD and stage fright try to tell a big speech.

Though, I guess you can't really blame them. It's kids after all, kids are weird. Some are the most talkative little bastards out there and some, like how I was, don't talk at all and it gets on your nerves. I still don't know which is worse, the quiet ones will stare into your soul but the talkative ones won't shut up even if you beg them.

Just as I was thinking of other reasons to tell my future girlfriend to take birth control, a dad and his toddler daughter walked in. "Oh!" I exclaimed, a little surprised since I was so deep in thought, "Hello!"

"Hey there!" The dad greeted, picking up the little girl's hand and making her wave to me. "Say hello, Eiko!" She just spat, getting a little saliva onto the floor.

I giggled, "And hello to you, Eiko! Is there anything I can help the two of you with? Finding something, maybe?"

"No, but thank you. We're just looking for gummies," The man picked her up, swinging her over his shoulders and going into the candy isle. He talked to her and asked her questions even though she couldn't respond. I found it sweet.

I felt a single tear stream down my cheek, wiping it as fast as I could and drying my hand off on my pants. Seeing a happy father with his kid had made me emotional, especially since I didn't get much of that as a kid. My dad was kind, sure, but he was also pretty distant from our family. He had an idea for a business he was going to start with a group of former colleagues from a job that he and that group had quit. The idea never went through but he never had any time for us because of it.

It was rare that I would get any father/son time with him, even at my school recitals he sometimes failed to show up. My mother on the other hand didn't care, she'd miss musicals and concerts on purpose because she was "tired" when I knew that it was just because the idea sounded boring to her. I grew up entirely on my own, a little too fast too. I was cooking for myself at 11 years old and even had a job at a local fast food place at 14 just so I could bike to the grocery store and get the food my Mom had skipped while at the store.

But it doesn't matter now, I guess growing up fast was a blessing in disguise because of how mature I am now. My savings account almost has enough for a better apartment, though I'm reluctant to move out since me and Hime are such good friends. Though, sooner or later we'll grow apart and then I'll take my leave for a better space.

I was still zoned out when the father and daughter pair approached the counter, staring down at the pale yellow laminated floor.

"I think he died.." The father whispered to his kid, waking me up out of my makeshift trance. "Oh! False call!"

"Sorry!! I tend to zone out pretty easily," I chuckled, sliding the bag of gummy sharks that he had placed down to myself and scanned it. "It's gonna be 700 yen, sir!"

"Gimme a sec to get my wallet," He reached around his pocket, "Y'know, sharks are little Eiko's favorite animal. She immediately grabbed em, ain't that cute?" He questioned, finding his wallet and placing his credit card down.

"Are they now? Mine are whales," I finished off his purchase, handing him his credit card and the bag of gummies. "Have a good day!!"

The two left the store, Eiko stopping by the door to wave at me. God, she was adorable.

"You'd make a good dad," Becky commented, coming out of the break room and blowing on her recently painted nails. "I could hear you from inside, you have a way with kids."

"Oh c'mon, that's an over exaggeration" I took another handful of the bag of chips that she had slapped me with earlier in the shift, "I didn't even interact with the kid that much, I'm horrible at keeping people under control and stuff. Plus, I hate kids. I could never have one of my own"

"Well sure, you're awful at discipline but.. Plenty of houses function without discipline."

"Function, I'd just keep the house in one piece. I wouldn't thrive as a dad." I huffed, I was way too nice to be a dad. I couldn't yell at a kid for the life of me, especially if it was my own.

"Whatevs, 'ts just an idea," She shrugged, grabbing a lollipop out of her pocket and popping it into her mouth, "There's a tub of candy in the breakroom, y'know?"

"Oh yeah, everyone else knows. Did you?"

She paused, looking a little embarrassed for a second, "Oh.." She took the lollipop out of her mouth, "Eh- of course I did, I was just telling you in case you didn't." She was very obviously lying.

"Right," I chuckled, staring at the clock until the next customer showed up.

The rest of the day had the same pace, only two or three people every hour. By the time we had to close I had cashed out around 13 people, and a slow day always meant there weren't as many tips. Me and Becky had to split, though I had already swiped the 1000 yen for myself before the splitting even started. There was no way we could split that and it was probably specifically for me, though I did feel kinda bad for snatching it.

"Seeya tomorrow!" I waved to her, knowing that both me and her were scheduled to work.

"Yeah, seeya dork," Becky waved back, going out the door as I finished the very ends of the cleaning.


End file.
